Caption transcript for In The Footsteps of The Rabbi From Tarsus: “Roman Imprisonment, Release, Travels, and Death” (6/12)

• 00:02 WITH DR. JEFFREY SEIF AND SANDRA LEVITT
• 01:00 A HEARTY SHALOM TO ALL OF YOU.
• 01:02 JEFFERY SEIF HERE
• 01:03 WITH MY BUDDY SANDRA LEVITT.
• 01:05 SHALOM.
• 01:06 WELCOME BACK TO IN THE FOOTSTEPS
• 01:07 OF A RABBI FROM TARSUS.
• 01:09 WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PAUL.
• 01:10 WE HAVE SEEN HIM A LOT OF PLACES.
• 01:13 WE'VE SEEN HIM EPHESUS, GREECE, WE'VE SEEN HIM EVERYWHERE.
• 01:17 AND NOW HE'S IN STOCKS, IN EFFECT RESTRICTED IN PRISON,
• 01:21 RIGHT UP AGAINST THE END.
• 01:23 WITH THIS PROGRAM WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
• 01:27 NOT THE END OF THE SERIES, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD,
• 01:30 BUT CERTAINLY PAUL'S WORLD.
• 01:32 AS HE TRAVELED ABOUT FINALLY AT THE END OF LIFE, HE IS RESTRICTED.
• 01:37 AND YOU CAN LOOK AT PRISON AS THE END,
• 01:41 BUT HE WAS INDUSTRIOUS EVEN IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE.
• 01:43 HE WAS.
• 01:45 HIS CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGED, HE KNEW THE END WAS COMING
• 01:47 AND YET WHAT WAS HIS RESPONSE?
• 01:49 HIS RESPONSE WAS TO GET THE WORD OUT,
• 01:51 TO BE ENCOURAGING TO HIS FOLLOWERS,
• 01:53 STAY THE COURSE, WAS HIS MONTRA, I GUESS?
• 01:58 CERTAINLY IT WAS HIS MONTRA.
• 02:00 NOW IN THE COURSE OF THIS PROGRAM, THIS SERIES,
• 02:04 WE'RE LOOKING AT A 12 PART SERIES DIVIDED IN 2.
• 02:07 THE FIRST OF WHICH WE LOOK AT HIS MOVEMENTS AND THEN HIS PARCHMENTS.
• 02:11 AND AS HE FINISHES UP WE SEE JUST WHAT SANDRA SAID,
• 02:15 THAT IS, AS HE'S WINDING UP HE'S MINISTERING TO THE END,
• 02:19 ENCOURAGING, LOVING, HELPING, COULD WELL BE SUMMED HERE.
• 02:22 YOU'RE BOUND UP IN A NURSING HOME, BOUND UP IN BEDROOM SOMEWHERE.
• 02:28 YOU DON'T HAVE THE ENERGIES OR THE RESOURCES THAT YOU HAD IN A BYGONE ERA.
• 02:31 THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT LIFE ENDS FOR YOU.
• 02:34 WE ALL CAN KEEP LOVING RIGHT INTO THE END,
• 02:36 CAN'T WE?
• 02:37 AND WE CAN AND THAT IS THE ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL OF US.
• 02:39 WE'RE GONNA GO TO JEFF NOW ON LOCATION,
• 02:41 CONTINUE WITH PAUL
• 02:43 IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RABBI FROM TARSUS.
• 02:47 COME WITH ME AND SEE THE GLORY THAT WAS ROME.
• 02:53 A SPLENDID EMPIRE BEGAN IN THE ITALIAN BOOT IN ITALY
• 03:00 AND SPREAD TO POINTS EAST AND FROM THERE WEST AND SOUTH.
• 03:06 ALL OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN.
• 03:08 EXTENDED TO ISRAEL AND EVEN FURTHER EAST THAN THAT.
• 03:13 AND HERE WE ARE IN THE EMPIRE.
• 03:17 FASCINATING TO SEE THE OLD RUINS AND THE PLACES.
• 03:21 AND IT'S MY PLEASURE, BY THE WAY.
• 03:23 I THANK YOU FOR TURNING ON THE TELEVISION, SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT PAUL SAW.
• 03:28 SO YOU CAN MAYBE FEEL IT, SO YOU CAN SENSE IT.
• 03:32 HERE'S PAUL, A SLAVE FOR THE KINGDOM, MAKING HIS WAY ABOUT THE GLORIOUS ROMAN EMPIRE.
• 03:41 AND IT'S IN THAT EMPIRE FINALLY WHERE PAUL WAS BROUGHT LOW.
• 03:46 CONSIDERED UNWORTHY TO GO ON LIVING HE'S GOING THERE FOR ALL INTENSIVE PURPOSES,
• 03:52 OR SO THEY'LL THINK, MEET AN INGLORIOUS END.
• 03:56 AND IN THIS SEGMENT WE'LL GO TO WHERE HE ARGUABLY ENDED.
• 04:00 WE'LL GO TO THE DUNGEON, THE X MARKS THE SPOT, WE'LL SHOW YOU THE ROMAN PRISON,
• 04:06 THERE WEREN'T MANY, THIS WAS ONE PERHAPS THE ONE WHERE PAUL SAW HIS FINAL DAYS.
• 04:13 HE WHO TRAVELED AROUND THE EMPIRE, THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW.
• 04:16 HE WHO TRAVELED THOUSANDS OF MILES COULDN'T GO A DOZEN FEET, AS HE'S RESTRICTED IN A DUNGEON.
• 04:25 AND FROM THAT DUNGEON HE WILL EMERGE AND FACE HIS DESTINY TO DIE.
• 04:32 THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, HE STARTED DYING THE MINUTE HE STARTED LIVING.
• 04:38 NOW WHAT DO I MEAN BY THAT?
• 04:39 IF WE CAN FOR A MOMENT, SAY NEVER MIND HIS FINAL STEPS.
• 04:43 AND IF WITH ME YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT FIRST STEP.
• 04:47 LOOKING HERE IN MY BIBLE IT'S THE BRIT HADASHAH IN HEBREW.
• 04:51 WHAT THAT MEANS IN ENGLISH IS THE NEW TESTAMENT.
• 04:53 THERE LUKE IN HIS BOOK CALLED ACTS, RECORDS AN EXCHANGE BETWEEN PAUL AND SOMEONE.
• 05:02 IN ACTS CHAPTER 9, VERSE 5;
• 05:24 PAUL AT THAT MOMENT CAME TO KNOW JESUS.
• 05:28 WHAT A STORY!
• 05:30 IT'S LIKE PAUL WAS THIS RELIGIOUS LEADER, HE STUDIED FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
• 05:35 HE WAS THE MOST STUDIED OF ALL OF JESUS' DISCIPLES.
• 05:38 THE OTHERS WERE COMMON FISHERMEN.
• 05:40 BUT NO, PAUL WAS A SAGE.
• 05:42 HE CUT HIS TEETH, THEOLOGICALLY, BUT EVEN WITH HIS STUDIES SOMETHING WAS MISSING.
• 05:48 HE KNEW THE WORD, THE WRITTEN WORD.
• 05:52 BUT NOW HE CAME TO KNOW THE WORD INCARNATE, THE WORD THAT WAS LIFE.
• 05:56 AND THAT TRANSACTION CAUSED SOMETHING TO BE INFUSED WITHIN HIM.
• 06:02 WITH THE NET RESULT THAT PAUL CAME TO LIFE.
• 06:05 AND AFTER HE CAME TO LIFE, HE WAS PARTICULARLY PROACTIVE
• 06:10 IN HELPING OTHER PEOPLE COME TO KNOW LIFE.
• 06:13 BUT THERE WAS A PRICE TO BE PAID.
• 06:16 PAUL WAS BLEEDING TO DEATH, IN SOME SENSE, THE WHOLE WHILE.
• 06:19 THE PROPHETIC WORD OVER PAUL WAS, THE LORD SAYING, "I'LL SHOW HIM WHAT HE NEEDS TO SUFFER."
• 06:25 BUT PAUL COUNTED IT ALL GLORIOUS.
• 06:29 HE COUNTED HIS LIFE AS INSIGNIFICANT,
• 06:32 FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE KNOW THE LORD.
• 06:35 FOR HIMSELF BEING ABLE TO PRESS ON TO KNOW HIM BETTER.
• 06:39 PAUL COMES TO FAITH ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS.
• 06:42 HE GOES INTO DAMASCUS.
• 06:43 HE'S GONNA WIND UP BEING SPIRITED AWAY FROM DAMASCUS.
• 06:46 HE'S GONNA SEE JERUSALEM FOR A SEASON.
• 06:48 HE'S GONNA SEE ARABIA FOR A SEASON.
• 06:50 HE'S GOING TO SEE TARSUS FOR 10 YEARS.
• 06:53 AND THEN THE LORD'S GONNA DROP IT INTO BARNABAS TO COME AND FETCH HIM.
• 06:58 AND BARNABAS AND PAUL TOGETHER WILL GO TO A MISSION OUTPOST, ANTIOCH,
• 07:02 COSMOPOLITAN CITY.
• 07:05 MADE UP OF JEWS AND NON-JEWS, RICH AND POUR.
• 07:08 AND THERE, THERE WAS A CHURCH MADE UP OF ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.
• 07:11 AND IN THAT CHURCH, PAUL HAD A VISION.
• 07:14 HE ALREADY HAD KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORD AND HE HAD SPIRIT.
• 07:19 HE WAS A NEW CREATION.
• 07:21 BUT THERE IN THAT MATRIX, HE BEGINS TO DEVELOP SOME SENSE OF THE VISION FOR PLANET EARTH.
• 07:27 WHEN WE FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RABBI FROM TARSUS,
• 07:31 WE NOTE SOMEONE WHO WENT ON VARIOUS MISSIONARY JOURNEYS FROM ANTIOCH.
• 07:35 TO MAKE KNOWN TO THE WORLD THAT THE MESSIAH HAS COME AND HIS NAME IS JESUS.
• 07:39 BUT NOT JUST TO THE JEWISH WORLD, BUT TO ALL THE WORLD.
• 07:41 HE WENT BY SEA, HE WENT BY LAND, HE FOUND HIMSELF EXPERIENCING RECEPTION AND REJECTION.
• 07:49 HE PREACHED IN SYNAGOGUES, SOME LOVED HIM, SOME DIDN'T.
• 07:53 HE SPOKE IN MARKET PLACES, SOME IGNORED HIM, SOME DIDN'T,
• 07:57 BUT THAT INTREPID BOLD PIONEER OF THE FAITH WAS USED BY GOD TO ESTABLISH COMMUNITIES.
• 08:04 BUT THERE WAS A PRICE TO BE PAID.
• 08:06 FOR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NEW LIFE, THE SPIRIT OF ANTI-LIFE WAS INVESTED AGAINST HIM
• 08:13 WITH THE NET RESULT THAT HE WAS ARRESTED ON MANY OCCASIONS.
• 08:16 HE ESCAPED FROM HIS IMPRISONMENT ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, BUT NOT THIS TIME.
• 08:22 AND SO, OFF WE GO TO THE DUNGEON IN ROME.
• 08:27 OFF HE WENT.
• 08:29 I WOULD IMAGINE HE HAD A SMILE ON HIS FACE, HOWEVER, FOR THIS WAS THE MAN WHO SAID,
• 08:35 HE COUNTED HIS LIFE AS NOTHING.
• 08:37 FOR HIM TO INVEST HIS LIFE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, FOR HIM TO DIE FOR CHRIST, IT'S ALL GOOD.
• 08:41 THIS WAS A MAN ON A MISSION.
• 08:44 AND HIS MISSION FINALLY TOOK HIM TO THIS PLACE.
• 08:46 AND YOU'LL SEE THE PLACE IN ROME, WHERE PAUL MET HIS END.
• 08:51 BUT WHAT WAS HIS END?
• 08:53 TRUTH BE KNOWN WAS A WHOLE NEW BEGINNING.
• 08:55 FOR PAUL AS YOU KNOW EMERGED FROM HIS DEATH AND ENTERED INTO GOD'S PRESENCE.
• 09:00 AND IN A MINUTE WE'RE GONNA SEE WHERE PAUL FINISHED.
• 09:03 AND WE'RE GONNA TAKE YOU TO THE PLACE, THAT WAS PAUL'S FINAL PLACE.
• 09:18 WANT YOU TO GET TO KNOW PAUL A LITTLE BETTER
• 09:21 AND FRANKLY I WANT YOU TO GET TO KNOW US.
• 09:24 IF YOU'LL CALL:
• 09:27 THAT'S THE GO TO NUMBER TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US,
• 09:30 ZOLA LEVITT MINISTRIES.
• 09:31 IF YOU'D LIKE WE'RE PLEASED TO SEND YOU A FREE MAGAZINE.
• 09:35 THERE'S ARTICLES.
• 09:36 YOU CAN READ IT, RESPOND TO IT, GET SOME INTERACTION GOING.
• 09:41 WE WANT YOU TO GO ON THE JOURNEY WITH US AS WITH PAUL.
• 09:44 AND SPEAKING OF JOURNEYS, WE TAKE TRIPS TO ISRAEL AND GREECE.
• 09:48 WE LIKE TO WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS AND PAUL.
• 09:51 JOIN US ON A TRIP.
• 09:57 ROME, IT'S CALLED THE ETERNAL CITY.
• 10:00 I MAY BE DATING MYSELF,
• 10:02 BUT ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO I WAS IN ROME,
• 10:04 SO IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING FOR ME
• 10:06 TO GO BACK AND SEE HOW LOVELY ROME WAS.
• 10:10 YOUR TEACHINGS THERE WERE WONDERFUL.
• 10:12 IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE TO SEE ROME.
• 10:13 WE'VE SEEN ISRAEL, WE'VE SEEN GREECE,
• 10:16 AND NOW WE'RE IN ROME.
• 10:17 I WONDER HOW PEOPLE IN ITALY WOULD FEEL
• 10:20 IF WE WANTED TO CARVE UP ROME
• 10:21 AND GIVE THE HEART OF IT TO SOME ETHNIC GROUP AND SO FORTH?
• 10:24 THAT CITY IS PRIDE OF PLACE IN ITALY AND I'M SURE IT'S WELL VALUED.
• 10:28 AND IT SHOWS.
• 10:30 AND THE OTHER THING I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT IS
• 10:31 ROME IS GONNA PLAY IN THE END TIMES ALSO.
• 10:34 HERE IT IS THIS MAGNIFICENT CITY AT THE BEGINNING, NOW IT'S KIND OF SO-SO,
• 10:38 BUT IT'S GONNA COME BACK AND BE PART OF THE END TIMES.
• 10:41 SO THAT'LL BE INTERESTING.
• 10:42 HERE'S JEFF ON LOCATION IN ROME.
• 10:46 I ALWAYS LIKE WORKING WITH BIBLICAL SOURCES
• 10:49 WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
• 10:50 BUT IN LOOKING AT PAUL'S FINISH
• 10:52 WE JUST DON'T HAVE BIBLICAL RESOURCES TO DRAW UPON.
• 10:55 LUKE, PAUL'S HISTORIAN, TELLS US THAT PAUL WAS IMPRISONED IN ROME.
• 11:02 IT WAS MORE LESS A HOUSE ARREST, A CASUAL ARREST.
• 11:04 AND THERE'S A VERY COGENT ARGUMENT
• 11:07 THAT HE WAS FREED FROM THAT.
• 11:09 AND THEN HE WENT ABOUT AND CONTINUED HIS MINISTRY.
• 11:13 THIS IS ENFORCED BY HIS LETTER TO TITUS, FOR EXAMPLE,
• 11:17 WHEN HE REFERS TO THE MINISTRY IN CRETE THAT WAS ESTABLISHED.
• 11:21 ENCOURAGES TITUS TO CONTINUE ON.
• 11:23 BUT AS YOU FOLLOW PAUL'S MISSIONARY JOURNEYS IN ACTS,
• 11:25 THERE'S NO RECORD OF HIM SPENDING ANYTIME IN CRETE TO SPEAK OF.
• 11:30 FOR THAT AND OTHER REASONS SCHOLARS ARGUE
• 11:33 THAT PAUL GOT OUT OF HIS QUANDARY IN ROME AND TRAVELED ABOUT.
• 11:38 ONLY TO THEN RETURN TO ROME AND ARGUABLY RETURN TO THIS PLACE IN ROME WHERE HE FINISHED UP.
• 11:45 THIS PLACE IS AN INTERESTING PLACE.
• 11:48 I'VE SPOKEN TO SOME EXPERTS THAT COULD SPEAK MORE TO THIS THAN I, BUT THIS ARGUABLY IS A PRISON.
• 11:54 THERE'S A STAIRWAY BEHIND ME THAT I'M GOING TO DESCEND,
• 11:57 BUT THOSE WHO CAME TO THIS PRISON, CAME THROUGH THIS HOLE RIGHT HERE.
• 12:02 LOOKS LIKE A MANHOLE, I GRANT, BUT WHAT THIS WAS, THIS WAS THE ENTRANCE.
• 12:06 AND PEOPLE WERE LOWERED DOWN, THEY WERE SHOVED IN THERE.
• 12:09 AND THERE'S AN ARGUMENT THAT IF PAUL WASN'T PLACED IN THIS PRISON,
• 12:13 AS IS ALLEGED BY THE TRADITION, THEN CERTAINLY ONE LIKE IT.
• 12:17 AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER ONE THERE'D BE, BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE THAT WE KNOW OF IN ROME.
• 12:20 PAUL WE'RE TOLD, WAS EXECUTED UNDER NERO ALONG WITH PETER.
• 12:31 AND AS WE CONSIDER HIS FINALE, IF YOU WILL,
• 12:36 THERE'S A SENSE IN WHICH WE'RE SAYING GOODBYE TO AN OLD FRIEND.
• 12:41 IN THIS SERIES WE'VE BEEN CONCERNED WITH FOLLOWING
• 12:45 IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RABBI FROM TARUS.
• 12:47 WE'VE BEEN INTEREST IN HIS MOVEMENTS AND IN HIS PARCHMENTS.
• 12:52 AND AS WE DO A WRAP ON HIS MOVEMENTS LET'S JUST SAY
• 12:56 THAT ONE OF HIS MOVEMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN TO BE COMPRESSED INWARD
• 13:00 AND SHOVED DOWN THIS HOLE, WHERE HE FOUND HIMSELF IN PRISON FOR A SEASON, SUCH IS THE TRADITION.
• 13:06 LET'S GO DOWN AND SEE WHAT WE FIND, WHEN WE GO DOWN INTO THE JAIL THAT ARGUABLY HOUSED PAUL.
• 13:23 IT'S HARD TO GET COMFORTABLE DOWN HERE, BUT THEN AGAIN IT'S NOT A HOTEL.
• 13:27 THE WALLS ARE PRESSING IN ON ME.
• 13:30 FEEL LIKE THE CEILINGS COMING DOWN.
• 13:32 I'M A PRETTY TALL GUY ANYWAY AND I'M RIGHT UP AGAINST IT.
• 13:35 THIS IS ARGUABLY WHERE PAUL FINISHED UP AND AS I'D SAID,
• 13:38 IT'S NOT COMFORTABLE, IT SMELLS TOO.
• 13:40 THERE'S A CISTERN HERE WHERE THE PRISONERS COULD TEND TO THERE BUSINESS.
• 13:46 MUST HAVE BEEN A HORRIBLE PLACE TO BE.
• 13:48 BUT PAUL WAS NO STRANGER TO THESE ENVIRONS INTERESTINGLY.
• 13:51 IN A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE EXTOLLED THE VIRTUES OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE, HOW EVERYTHING COMES UP ROSES,
• 13:57 WHEN SOMEONE PRAYS A SINNERS PRAYER, FOR AS MUCH AS THAT'S ADVOCATED,
• 14:02 I DON'T KNOW THAT THE CHURCH KNOWS WHAT TO DO IN A PLACE LIKE THIS.
• 14:06 NEVER MIND THIS PLACE FOR A MOMENT, THE LORD PREPARED PAUL FOR THIS.
• 14:09 THIS WASN'T HIS FIRST TIME WHEN WAS IN DIFFICULT STRAITS.
• 14:12 HE IS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL IN HIS CORINTHIAN CORRESPONDENCE.
• 14:15 AND I WANT YOU TO LOOK IN 2ND CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 11, VERSE 23;
• 14:25 AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY HE LIKED WEARING STRIPES AS APPOSED TO PAISLEY OR WHATEVER.
• 14:28 IT SAID THAT HE WAS (WHIP SOUND) BEAT SO MANY TIMES.
• 14:32 HIS BACK, HIS LEGS HE WOULD'VE BEEN A MESS.
• 14:35 HE SAYS,
• 14:43 HE WASN'T JUST WHIPPED WITH A BELT, BUT THERE WERE LITTLE SHERDS AT THE END OF THAT,
• 14:47 SHARDS TO KINDA TEAR INTO THE SKIN, IT WAS HORRIBLE.
• 14:55 PEOPLE SAY, WAS PAUL MARRIED?
• 14:56 AT ONE LEVEL HE WASN'T MUCH TO LOOK AT AND TOUCH,
• 14:59 HE WAS JUST LIVING MOVING SCAR TISSUE, IF YOU WILL.
• 15:02 A BUSTED UP KIND OF FELLOW FOR ALL HE'D BEEN THROUGH.
• 15:05 HE SAYS,
• 15:07 AS IF ALL THE IMPRISONMENT AND TORTURE WASN'T BAD ENOUGH.
• 15:12 THIS GUY HAD A RUFF GO OF IT, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?
• 15:14 DIFFICULTIES NOT WITHSTANDING, THE GRACE OF GOD SUSTAINED HIM.
• 15:18 AND HE WAS ABLE TO FIND A TRIUMPH IN TRAGEDY.
• 15:35 PAUL SAID THAT HE LEARNED TO ABOUND AND HE LEARNED TO BE ABASED.
• 15:39 HE LEARN TO GET IT BOTH WAYS IN LIFE.
• 15:41 WOULD THAT WE LEARN THAT SECRET?
• 15:43 SPEAKING TO YOU FROM THE DUNGEON WHERE PAUL WAS ALLEGED TO HAVE FINISHED
• 15:48 DEEP IN THE BOWELS OF ROME.
• 15:51 SPEAKING FROM THIS PLACE, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THERE IS A TRIUMPH THAT COMES FROM TRAGEDY
• 15:58 AND THAT'S ONE OF THE LESSONS THAT WE LEARN WHEN WE CONSIDER THE LIFE,
• 16:03 WHEN WE WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RABBI FROM TARSUS.
• 16:07 LOOK AT HIS LIFE AND LOOK AT HIS DEATH.
• 16:09 WE LEARN THERE'S SOMETHING MORE THAN LIFE AND MORE IMPORTANT THAN DEATH.
• 16:13 HERE IN THE DUNGEON WHERE PAUL SPENT SOME OF HIS LAST MOMENTS
• 16:18 THERE IS A PLAQUE HERE AND IT SHOWS PAUL IN THE ORANT POSTURE.
• 16:24 I'VE SEEN THIS ORANTE POSTURE WITH HANDS UP AND EXTENDED IN THE CATACOMBS OF ROME.
• 16:30 IT WAS THE PRAYER POSTURE IN ANTIQUITY WHERE PEOPLE, IT'S INDICATIVE OF SURRENDER.
• 16:35 AND HERE PAUL WAS IN SOMETHING OF A TRIUMPHANT POSTURE.
• 16:39 INTERESTINGLY HE HAS CHAINS ON HIS HAND AND HE'S CHAINED TO THIS PILLAR, ARGUABLY.
• 16:44 BUT THOUGH HE WAS CHAINED CIRCUMSTANTIALLY, HE WAS A FREE MAN, FREE INDEED.
• 16:50 AND THE REASON, OF COURSE IS BECAUSE, HE WHO HAS THE SON, IS FREE INDEED.
• 16:55 AND JESUS WAS IN THIS MAN'S HEART AND HE KNEW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH DID SET HIM FREE.
• 17:00 AND PAUL WOULD SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE, DIFFICULTIES NOT WITHSTANDING.
• 17:04 WOULD THAT WE ALL LEARN THAT LESSON?
• 17:07 WOULD THAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE TRIUMPH THAT'S MADE AVAILABLE?
• 17:11 AND THE WAY SOMEONE COMES TO TERMS WITH THAT IS
• 17:14 THEY FIRST REALIZE THAT WHAT SHACKLES US IN LIFE ISN'T OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
• 17:19 WHAT SHACKLES IN LIFE IS OUR SIN.
• 17:21 AND WE CAN GET FREE OF THAT THE SAME WAY PAUL DID.
• 17:24 THE SAME WAY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING IT BEFORE PAUL AND AFTER
• 17:27 AND THAT IS BY REACHING UP TO GOD AND OUT TO THE FUTURE AND SAYING,
• 17:30 "LORD PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR MY SINS."
• 17:32 AND THEN REACHING OUT TO THE FUTURE WITH HIM AND SAY,
• 17:35 "LORD I WANNA WALK WITH YOU IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE,
• 17:37 PLEASE COME INTO MY HEART AND GIVE ME THE HOLY SPIRIT."
• 17:40 AND THEN WE CAN GET ON WITH OUR BUSINESS.
• 17:42 YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE IF YOU ACT LIKE A TURKEY.
• 17:45 AND THERE ARE TO MANY PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND GOING,"GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE."
• 17:49 WOULD THAT WE LEARNED WHAT IT IS TO TRIUMPH?
• 17:52 WHAT IT IS TO SOAR?
• 17:54 AND SO HERE WE ARE NOW MIDWAY THROUGH OUR TREATMENT OF PAUL.
• 18:00 WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FOOTSTEPS OF THIS RABBI FROM TARUS.
• 18:04 IN THE FIRST 6 PROGRAMS WE'VE CONSIDERED PAUL'S MOVEMENTS.
• 18:09 AND THE NEXT 6 WE'LL CONSIDER HIS PARCHMENTS.
• 18:12 WE'LL CONSIDER HIS WRITINGS.
• 18:14 AND I TRUST THAT WITH ME YOU'LL AGREE THAT PAUL IS A PRINCIPAL INTERPRETER OF THE JESUS STORY.
• 18:20 AND BY COMING TO TERMS WITH PAUL, YOU CAN COME TO TERMS WITH JESUS.
• 18:23 BY COMING TO TERMS WITH JESUS, YOU CAN COME TO TERMS WITH LIFE.
• 18:26 AND EXPERIENCE THE HEALING THAT'S AVAILABLE TO YOU IN LIFE BY THE ONE WHO GIVES NEW LIFE.
• 18:31 AND THIS WE LEARN THE MORE SO AS WE CONSIDER WITH PAUL,
• 18:34 AS WE WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RABBIT FROM TARSUS.
• 18:50 ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FIND FASCINATING ABOUT PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT,
• 18:54 IS THE FACT THAT IN MANY RESPECTS HE WAS NEVER THERE.
• 18:58 WHAT DO I MEAN BY THAT?
• 19:00 VICTOR FRANKLE, A JEW SURVIVED THE HOLOCAUST, BECAME A PSYCHIATRIST AND HE SAID,
• 19:05 "YOU KNOW EVEN IN THE DARKEST HOUR IT'S NOT UNTIL
• 19:08 YOU DESIDE TO GET BITTER THAT THEY OWN YOU."
• 19:10 HE WAS MINDED TO KEEP A GOOD ATTITUDE AND A POSITIVE RESOLUTION,
• 19:14 DIFFICULTIES NOT WITHSTANDING.
• 19:16 AND FOR ALL PURPOSES, PAUL SHOWS THAT SO VERY WELL, DOESN'T HE?
• 19:20 IN THE WAY THAT HE FINISHED SO GLORIOUSLY.
• 19:22 BUT HE DOES.
• 19:23 BUT WE'RE ALL IN A PRISON OF SOME SORT.
• 19:25 WHETHER IS A PHYSICAL PRISON OR A SPIRITUAL,
• 19:27 ANY OTHER KIND OF PRISON,
• 19:30 WE'RE IN PRISON OF SOME SORT.
• 19:31 IT'S HOW WE HANDLE IT.
• 19:33 WELL THERE'S A SENSE IN WHICH OUR PERSONA IS IMPRISONED IN THIS EARTH,
• 19:35 SOON CALLED THE BODY. RIGHT.
• 19:37 AND THERE CIRCUMSTANCES ROUND ABOUT US.
• 19:38 BUT IT'S GOOD TO BE ABLE TO TRANSCEND THAT
• 19:41 AND HAVE A VISON BEYOND OUR OWN LIFE,
• 19:43 BEYOND OUR OWN MORTAL EXPERIENCE.
• 19:45 WELL AND THE COMFORT.
• 19:46 THE COMFORT OF KNOWING THAT WE DO HAVE AN ANSWER.
• 19:49 WE DO HAVE BELIEF THAT KEEPS US, SUSTAINS US THROUGHOUT THE TRIALS.
• 19:53 AND LEADS US IN TRIUMPH BEYOND THAT IS WELL. RIGHT ABSOLUTELY
• 19:56 IT'S A GREAT PACKAGE. IT'S A GREAT PACKAGE.
• 19:58 YES AND PAUL DOES IT SO VERY WELL.
• 19:59 AND DR. JOHN FISCHER TALKS ABOUT PAUL SO VERY WELL.
• 20:03 ONCE AGAIN WE RETURN TO AN OLD FRIEND OF OURS NOW.
• 20:06 I KNOW YOU'VE APPRECIATED THE RABBI, DR. JOHN FISCHER.
• 20:09 AND HERE HE IS AGAIN WAXING ELOQUENT ON THE FACT THAT
• 20:12 PAUL WASN'T IN TROUBLE BECAUSE HE ABANDONED JUDAISM,
• 20:14 HE WAS IN TROUBLE BECAUSE HE SPOKE THE TRUTH
• 20:17 AND INVOKED THE IRE OF SOME,
• 20:20 AS A RESULT OF HIS SO DOING.
• 20:22 SO HERE'S PAUL, HE'S NOW IN ROME, HE'S IN PRISON.
• 20:26 SOME SAY HOUSE ARREST, SOME SAY WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THE DUNGEON,
• 20:30 NOW THAT HE'S IN THE DUNGEON.
• 20:31 AND YET, HE STILL FINDS THE WHEREWITHAL
• 20:34 TO WITNESS.
• 20:36 IT'S AN INCREDIBLE STORY.
• 20:38 HE'S BEEN BEATEN, HE'S BEEN STONED,
• 20:39 HE'S BE LET DOWN IN A BASKET,
• 20:40 SHIPWRECKED.
• 20:42 YOU NAME IT HE'S DONE IT AND NOW HE'S IN PRISON.
• 20:43 THAT'S PART OF HIS LIFE.
• 20:45 WHAT MORE CAN HAPPEN?
• 20:46 THERE WAS MORE TO HAPPEN, YEAH.
• 20:49 BUT IT'S AN ESSENTIAL PART OF HIS LIFE,
• 20:51 SO HE'S IN ROME, HE MEETS WITH JEWISH LEADERS THERE,
• 20:56 BUT THIS WHOLE PACKAGE STARTED EALIER WHEN HE WAS MEETING WITH
• 20:59 THE JEWISH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM, IN THE VARIOUS TRIAL SCENES.
• 21:02 AND HE'S ALWAYS USING THOSE TRIAL SCENES
• 21:04 AS A WAY OF DOING TWO THINGS INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH.
• 21:06 NOT ONLY TELLING THEM ABOUT THE MESSIANIC MESSAGE,
• 21:10 IT'S SO MUCH A CORE OF HIS BEING,
• 21:11 BUT ALSO CONTINUALLY TESTIFYING TO HIS CONSISTENT OBSERVANCE
• 21:17 OF THE TRADITIONS.
• 21:18 SO IT'S BEFORE THESE TRIBUNALS, THESE JEWISH TRIBUNALS,
• 21:22 HE'S SAYING NOT, "I USED TO BE A PHARISEE", "I AM A PHARISEE".
• 21:24 RIGHT
• 21:25 HE SAYS YOU KNOW MY MANNER OF LIFE.
• 21:27 YOU CAN TESTIFY TO THE FACT THAT I'VE LIVED CONSISTENTLY AS A JEW,
• 21:30 PRESENT TENSE, NOT PAST TENSE.
• 21:32 I AM HALACHICLY OBSERVANT, PRESENT TENSE, NOT PAST TENSE.
• 21:36 AND THEN...
• 21:37 SO THAT'S THE KIND OF JEW HE IS,
• 21:41 IN FACT ON THE WAY TO ROME PRIOR TO THE SHIPWRECK,
• 21:43 THIS SLIDES BY MOST INTERPRETERS,
• 21:45 HE'S CELEBRATING YOM KIPPUR, ACTS CHAPTER 27.
• 21:47 SO HE SHOWS UP IN JERUSALEM FOR THE MAIN FEAST AND FESTIVALS.
• 21:51 HE'S ON A BOAT GETTING READY TO BE SHIPWRECKED, HE CELEBRATES YOM KIPPUR.
• 21:54 THIS GUY'S A GOOD JEW ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE END,
• 21:58 BUT HE'S MESSIANIC. AND HE DOESN'T APOLOGIZE FOR IT.
• 22:00 HE DOESN'T SAY, OH BUT NO I'M NOT.
• 22:02 I BELIEVE THIS, I AM A JEW.
• 22:04 AND I THINK THAT IS SO ENCOURAGING FOR ALL OF US TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN.
• 22:10 SAY I AM A JEW AND I BELIEVE THIS IS THE MESSIAH.
• 22:12 IT'S AS THEY SAY, THE WARP AND WOOF OF HIS LIFE IN THE BEGINNING.
• 22:15 HE'S AS A JEW HE'S ALSO COMMITTED TO THE MESSIAH.
• 22:18 AND BOTH OF THOSE THINGS SHOW UP WHEN HE'S TALKING TO THE RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP IN ROME.
• 22:22 HE SAYS, THEY WANNA KNOW WHY ARE YOU HERE?
• 22:26 WHY WERE YOU BROUGHT TO TRIAL?
• 22:27 HE SAYS, "LOOK,"
• 22:35 NOT JUST THE TORAH.
• 22:37 HE WAS, TORAH OBSERVANT ALL THE WAY THROUGH,
• 22:38 BUT HE WAS TRADITION OBSERVANT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
• 22:40 I'M NOT HERE BECAUSE I VIOLATED THOSE,
• 22:42 I'M HERE BECAUSE I'M SPREADING A MESSIANIC MESSAGE,
• 22:45 THAT CAUSES SOME PEOPLE SOME DISCOMFORT.
• 22:47 THOROUGHLY JEWISH AND VALIDLY MESSIANIC.
• 22:51 WONDERFUL COMBINATION, BUT THAT WAS THE CORE, HEART OF HIS LIFE.
• 22:55 IT WAS HIS HEARTBEAT.
• 22:56 AND THEY SHOULD'VE BEEN EXCITED.
• 22:57 BUT EVERYWHERE HE WENT THEY WEREN'T THAT EXCITED.
• 23:00 LET ME DIFFER JUST A LITTLE BIT. OK
• 23:02 THERE WERE SOME WHO WERE "THEY" WHO WEREN'T EXCITED, RIGHT
• 23:04 BUT MANY THAT "THEY" WERE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC.
• 23:06 AND THAT'S WHAT CAUSED SOME OF THE "THEY" TO BE A LITTLE LESS EXCITED.
• 23:09 SOME OF THE LEADERS PROBABLY.
• 23:11 IT WAS THE LEADERS.
• 23:12 IT WAS THE SAME PROBLEM WITH YESHUA.
• 23:13 THE PROBLEM WITH YESHUA WASN'T THE PHARISEES, IT WASN'T THE LAY PEOPLE,
• 23:16 IT WAS THE SADDUCEES, SANHEDRIN, AND THE HIGH PRIEST.
• 23:19 THE PROBLEM WITH RAV SHAUL, THE RABBI LATER, SAME PROBLEM.
• 23:22 LEADERSHIP FELT THEIR STATUS BEING JEOPARDIZED.
• 23:27 THEY FELT THEIR STATUS BEING UNDERCUT, SO THEY WERE ENVIOUS, JEALOUS.
• 23:32 THE HIGH PRIEST IN YESHUA'S TIME SAID,
• 23:35 IT'S BETTER THAT ONE PERSON DIE THAN THE WHOLE NATION PERISH.
• 23:37 HE WASN'T BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT OR PATRIOT THERE,
• 23:42 HE WAS BEING, HE WAS JUST REMINDING THE REST OF HIS CREW THAT,
• 23:45 RIGHT IT'S THEM OR US. IT'S HIM OR US.
• 23:48 IT'S HIM OR US, RIGHT.
• 23:50 AND ROME'S NOT GONNA BE TOO HAPPY
• 23:52 IF THIS CHARACTER GETS TOO MUCH OF A LARGER FOLLOWING,
• 23:54 AND WE'RE THE ONES WHO ARE GONNA PAY.
• 23:55 SAME THING AS THE RABBI TRAVELS.
• 23:58 WE'LL TALK SOME MORE.
• 24:00 YEAH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
• 24:01 ALRIGHT. THANKS
• 24:33 DR. FISCHER TALKS ABOUT PAUL BEING A JEW.
• 24:35 AND FOR ME IT WAS MY LATE HUSBAND, ZOLA.
• 24:38 TOWARD THE END OF HIS LIFE, HE WAS STILL A JEW,
• 24:41 BUT HE WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT THE MESSIAH.
• 24:45 THAT WAS HIS PRIORITY.
• 24:47 HIS PRIORITY BECAME "PEOPLE NEEDED TO KNOW, THIS WAS THE TRUTH".
• 24:51 HE WASN'T FAKE, IT WASN'T HE DID FOR A LIVING, THIS WAS HIS LIFE.
• 24:56 IT WAS A GREAT TESTIMONY FOR ME TO SEE HIM ENDURE TIL THE END AND TO TAKE OFF.
• 25:01 WELL WE GET IN TROUBLE FOR THOSE OF US GIVEN
• 25:04 TO WANTING TO KEEP A FOOT IN THINGS JEWISH
• 25:06 AND ANOTHER FOOT IN THINGS JESUS.
• 25:08 JEWISH PEOPLE SAY WE'RE REALLY NOT AUTHENTIC BECAUSE OF JESUS
• 25:12 AND JESUS PEOPLE SAY WE'RE REALLY NOT AUTHENTIC BECAUSE WE'RE JEWISH.
• 25:15 WE TAKE SOME PIES IN THE FACE,
• 25:17 BUT WE OUGHTA TAKE THE REJECTION GRACEFULLY,
• 25:19 BECAUSE IF I UNDERSTAND PAUL IT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY.
• 25:22 ZOLA ABSORBED THE REJECTION WELL
• 25:24 AND I THINK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO MUCH OF THE SAME.
• 25:26 WELL SOMETIMES HE ABSORBED IT WELL,
• 25:28 THERE WERE TIMES
• 25:30 THAT IT REALLY DID CUT HIM DEEPLY.
• 25:31 AND IT HURT BECAUSE HERE HE WAS TRYING TO GET THE TRUE WORD OUT
• 25:35 AND NO ONE WOULD LISTEN.
• 25:36 NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE HIM
• 25:38 AND IF THEY BELIEVED THEY WOULD SAY,
• 25:39 "YES, BUT YOU'RE COMING FROM THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE."
• 25:42 AND THEN ONCE THE JEWS HEARD IT THEY'LL SAY,
• 25:44 "WELL, NO, BUT YOU'RE REALLY COMING FROM THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE."
• 25:45 AND HE JUST REALLY PERSEVERED AND IT HELPED ME,
• 25:49 IT HELPS ME TODAY TO KNOW I CAN GO ON. YES.
• 25:52 WELL, I THINK IT'S HELPFUL THAT OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE ISN'T TO GET THE PAIN OUT,
• 25:56 OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE IS TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT.
• 25:59 AMEN
• 26:01 AND THERE'S PAIN THAT GOES WITH THE PASSION, BUT IT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY.
• 26:03 I LEARN THAT WHEN I THINK OF RABBI PAUL.
• 26:06 IT'S ENCOURAGING.
• 26:08 I HATE TO KEEP SAYING THAT, BUT IT'S ENCOURAGING.
• 26:10 IT'S ENDURING, IT IS THE HOPE THAT I HAVE THAT I CAN ENDURE TOWARD THE END.
• 26:15 PEOPLE MAY PUSH AT ME OR SPIT AT ME AND I HAVE I'VE BEEN PUSHED, I'VE BEEN SPIT AT.
• 26:20 IT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT PAUL HAS DONE.
• 26:22 IT'S NOTHING TO WHAT ZOLA DID, NOTHING.
• 26:24 AND WHAT DID YESHUA SAY? HE SAYS,
• 26:26 "I WILL SEND YOU THE HELPER."
• 26:28 "I WILL SEND YOU THE HELPER."
• 26:29 NOW THE HELPER COMFORT, BUT THE HELPER HELPS IN OTHER WAYS AS WELL
• 26:32 AS WE KEEP BREAKING AGAINST THE PREVAILING DARKNESS.
• 26:36 JOIN US NEXT WEEK AND WE LOOK AT PAUL'S WRITINGS, HIS PARCHMENTS AS JEFF CALLS THEM.
• 26:42 1ST THESSALONIANS AND GALATIANS
• 26:44 AND SHA'ALU SHALOM YERUSHALAYIM.
• 26:46 PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM.